Icelandic Conqueror - 1966 Dodge Charger

No track? No problem for this 1966 Dodge Charger

Feature Article from Hemmings Muscle Machines

Perhaps the unofficial motto of any gearhead who's eagerly warmed up his muscle car while striving to quench a thirst for speed on quarter-mile strips of pavement. Here in the lower 48, finding a sanctioned arena to hone your straight-line skills isn't too tough, even with the strips that have been squeezed out by urban sprawl. But if you're one of the faithful maintaining a passion for American muscle cars and straight-line speed from somewhere outside of the continental U.S., opportunities are limited. Just ask Selfoss, Iceland, resident Ragnar S. Ragnarsson.
''Born and raised on the north side of Iceland in the town of Akureyri, I became a member and board member of the local car club there (Bilaklubbur Akureyrar) a year before I got my driver's license in 1976. By 1979, I had found this 1966 Dodge Charger for sale (I was 20 years old at the time) and my dad loaned me the money to buy it,'' says Ragnar, fully acknowledging the oddity of a muscle Mopar in his native land.
''It was imported new to Iceland with a kilometer-rated speedometer peaking at 240. Originally silver with a tame 361-cu.in. V-8, 727 automatic transmission, a 3.23 Sure Grip differential and trailer towing package, this Dodge was a show car for the Icelandic Dodge dealership. By 1981, I was racing it at the sand drags,'' he recalls.
Two things may immediately jump out here: How did a '66 Charger end up in Iceland, and why was it racing on sand? Ragnar prefaces both answers with a little history lesson dating from World War II.
In the war, Iceland had become a strategic position for the Allied forces during the battle of the North Atlantic. Knowing that aircraft could not make the jump from North America to Britain non-stop, an airstrip was constructed in Keflavik, located on the volcanic island's southwestern edge. At the conclusion of hostilities, the base became part of the U.S. arm of NATO in the effort to monitor Russian submarines and long-range bomber activity. As was the case in the States, many of the U.S. service personnel stationed in Keflavik owned muscle cars. Eventually redeployed, numerous owners chose to leave their high-performance Detroit iron on the island rather than make delivery arrangements; updated performance cars could be obtained just as easily stateside.
The end result was, as Ragnar puts it, ''a relatively high number of American muscle cars in Iceland over the years.'' Since the performance apocalypse of the early Seventies, more than one car club has taken root in the country better known for its fire and ice.
Drag racing was a natural tendency among owners, given that it was the underlying purpose of these machines, but without dedicated drag strips, sanctioned competition had to be executed in an unconventional manner, using temporary courses that were erected in the fall when receding river waters exposed fine-grain sand deposits. These were similar to what you'd find in Florida's Ormond Beach or Daytona Beach, both of which were found suitable for speed contests during the early days of American motorsport. Ragnar is quick to point out that these sand courses measured 100 yards, as is standard for sand drags, rather than the traditional drag-racing quarter-mile.
A few years later, a more conventional outlet for muscle car competition began to take shape: ''The one paved drag racing track in Iceland was built in 1980 by a bunch of young and enthusiastic guys who first formed a drag racing club in 1975; it still owns the track today. It's open for all who want to drag race. It's actually the first track built specifically for drag racing in Europe.'' Ragnar, for his part, has raced on both surfaces.
''Within a year of buying the car, I started the first phase of tuning by giving the two-barrel 361 a mild Crane cam and Hooker headers,'' says Ragnar, recalling that it also received an Edelbrock DP4B intake manifold and a Holley 600 CFM carburetor with vacuum secondaries. The transmission received a B&M Transpack while the Sure Grip was fitted with a shorter 4.10:1 gear ratio.
It was effective: ''Besides an occasional street race back then, I ran the car at the sand drags and took second place for cars with regular tires in that year's Icelandic Sand Drags Championship.''
Sometime in 1982, Ragnar had the Charger painted red and took the time to rebuild the steering and suspension before resuming racing in the fall. In spite of his early success, straight-line activity was soon put on hold; in 1985, Ragnar returned to school, and the car wound up sitting in storage until 1997.
Says Ragnar: ''I started racing again in 1998, and I've raced the Charger nearly every year since then. In 1999, I pulled the original 361 and installed a mildly tuned 400-cu.in. engine that pushed the car into the high 13s. That engine stayed in the car until 2003, when I built a mild 451-cu.in. stroker, which really helped drop ETs into the low 12s." With a set of radial tires, Ragnar says the 4,040-pound Dodge has run a best of 12.20 at 113.92 MPH with 60-foot time of 1.994 seconds, an ET that stands as the Icelandic record for older muscle cars; the Charger has been the champion in that class for the last three years.
''The class I race in was conceived for older American muscle cars and the engine size is limited to 515 cubic inches; the rules also require the original body, full exhaust and stock interior, and the engine has to run on pump gas. Slicks or drag radials are not permitted in the class--with a race season that runs from mid-May to mid-September coupled with rain-outs and air temperatures that are seldom above 65 degrees Fahrenheit, the lack of traction on an already tricky track surface makes our racing a sport only for the most diehard and stubborn.''
Ragnar told us that the 451 engine is in its second phase, essentially making it the fourth powerplant variation to be bolted to the chassis. Its development was brought on by ''a detonation that ruined the crank and rods at 5,000 RPM.'' However, all other aspects of the previous configuration were saved. Although exact horsepower was not disclosed (it is estimated to be 530hp at the flywheel based on the vehicle's weight and its trap speed), the engine now features a 440 crank, a Holley 850 HP-series carburetor, 10.69:1 compression and a Competition Cams flat-tappet camshaft, among other aftermarket bits. All told, the car is still registered for street use and is driven the 75-mile round trip to the track and back.
''My story is just one of many in Iceland,'' offers Ragnar, while tipping his hat to a fellow racer. ''Over the years, my greatest competition has come from Harry Hólmgeirsson, who owns and races a 1969 Chevy Camaro Yenko clone. In 2008, one of the races between us was voted as the race of the year; I won by a holeshot, his 12.668 to my 12.670.''
But even in Iceland, Mopar enthusiasts remain mindful of original equipment. ''In spite of the changes I've made to the car over the years, I have not done anything to it that could not be reversed; I have the original engine and its parts, as well as all the bolt-on stuff the car came with from the factory. It's the reason I choose to run in a true radial tire class--it makes it hard to exceed the 11.55 second ET that would require me to fit a roll cage into the car. I'll quit racing the Charger before that happens, because I don't want to spoil the beautiful interior.''

This article originally appeared in the June, 2010 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines.